Saturday, November 28, 2009

VARIOUS: Lookout! Records, 20 Year Collection

Larry Livermore and David Hayes formed the label in 1987. Hayes left in 1989 to start Very Small Records, leaving Lookout to Livermore, who sold the label in 1997 to Chris Appelgren, who started working at the label in 1988, while still in high school. From the start, Lookout released punk rock records, but over time expanded its scope to include various types of pop punk, hardcore punk, and indie rock. Former Lookout bands that have since achieved major label success include Green Day, Rancid and The Donnas.Lookout became famous for releasing albums that featured a very distinctive pop punk sound including bands such as Screeching Weasel, The Mr T Experience, The Queers, Green Day, Sweet Baby, Squirtgun and others.In recent years, a number of Lookout recording artists have ended their dealings with the label, rescinding their master rights from the label and re-issuing albums on other labels.These bands have cited various reasons including non-renewal of licensing agreements, distribution and breach of contract over unpaid royalties. Among the bands that have taken their masters from Lookout and reissued them on other labels are Screeching Weasel (on Asian Man), Avail (on Jade Tree), Pansy Division (on Alternative Tentacles), Blatz and Filth (on Alternative Tentacles), The Dollyrots (on Blackheart Records), The Riverdales (on Asian Man), The Queers (on Asian Man), The Lillingtons (on Red Scare Industries), Enemy You (also on Red Scare), Twenty-Nineteen (on CREC Records), and The Groovie Ghoulies (on Springman Records). On August 1, 2005, Green Day became the biggest former Lookout act to rescind their masters from the label, forcing Lookout to lay off its staff and halt new releases for the remainder of the year. Operation Ivy rescinded their masters on May 4, 2006 and their album was reissued on Hellcat Records in November 2007.On September 13, 2009 Larry Livermore commented on the name of the label on his blog, noting that the name is often erroneously spelled with an exclamation point. While the proper spelling does not include an exclamation point, an exclamation point has become a common spelling in popular usage.Lookout Records turned 20 years old in 2008 and continues to offer a large catalog of underground punk, pop-punk and indie rock music on CD, vinyl and via digital download from virtually all music services.

With idealistic spirit, a powerhouse live show, and bigger than big hair, the Alarm were part of an early-'80s wave of bands (the Call, Big Country, and the Waterboys among them) who dealt in soaring anthems inspired by the righteous idealism of punk. Clearly influenced by the impassioned political fervor of the Clash, the Alarm also worked in a mostly acoustic, folk-punk vein that provided a counterpoint to their hard-driving guitar rockers. Their stage look was unquestionably a product of the '80s, with enormous spiked-up hair accompanying a cowboy/old-time cavalry wardrobe. Yet the numerous comparisons to U2 in the press were not unfounded; despite a more conservative sonic palette, the Alarm had much the same earnest intensity, the same messianic ambitions, even the same vague spirituality. Likewise, the Alarm seemed to covet a mainstream breakthrough in the vein of The Joshua Tree's conquest of the pop charts, and polished up their sound accordingly, with mixed creative results. The British music press habitually savaged their records as derivative and pretentious, but this meant little to their zealous following who supported the band to the tune of over 5 million sales worldwide and 16 Top 50 UK singles.-- by Steve Huey, Allmusic.com

Splodgenessabounds is an English punk rock band formed in Keston, Bromley, Kent. The band is associated with the Oi! and Punk Pathetique genres. Their frontman is Max Splodge. The band was originally fronted by Max Splodge and his girlfriend of the time, who was known as Baby Greensleeves. The band won a recording contract with Deram Records after finishing runner-up in the 1979 Battle Of The Bands contest, even though Deram was planning to cease all activities in the music markets outside of classical music. The band's first release for Deram in 1980 was "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please", which later inspired the title of the BBC situation comedy, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. The song was released as a triple A side vinyl single, along with "Simon Templar" (a pastiche of the theme tune of the TV series, Return of the Saint) and "Michael Booth's Talking Bum".

tRaCkS1.scrapyard2.my socks gone down my shoe3.poochie4.i wouldn't lie5.having a beer6.lullaby of mongolia7.truncheon meat squad8.poochie (slight return)9.i don't know10.mongols on the streets of london11.i'm angry12.singing out of tune13.ghenghis khan14.the things that make mongols so great15.patrick moore (he talks to me)

First of all, yes this is Infa Riot and they just simply changed their name to The Infas (Why?), but anyways, this album has an interesting story. Infa Riot was a short lived band and their debut, Still Out of Order, was a huge sucess. However Secret Records (the orignial issue of that album was first issued from them) eventually vanished away (went out of business) and so the band had went on to the record label Panache Records and recorded Sound and Fury (under the name The Infas), but also recorded the ''Sound And Fury'' / ''Triffic Spiff Ya OK'' single but neither one of the records got promotions and distributions so this album was scarce (meaning it was rare and wasn't out for very long) and then the band broke up after this. Then a decade later, they reissued this album in it's original form (with no bonus tracks and including the LP Cover on front and back). The band during this time were a little slower but managed to stay the same, unlike a majority of punk bands that went from punk to being 80s rock and roll mixes punk bands. The vocalist sounds the same from their last album and the songs are really good. If you haven't listened to their first album, Still Out of Order (which when you look for it on this site, type in the name Infa-Riot), check that album out first before you make a decision on this album.-- by Steve SBN

tRaCkS1.rock all ye faithfull2.these dangerous days3.sound and fury4.punch the air with glory5.there's gotta be a better way6.birds and bees7.a spirit wild8.manthing9.don't want to be (in the crowd)10.pushers on the rampage11.triffic spiff ya ok12.captain england

The Vibrators were founded by Ian 'Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice at the 100 Club when they backed Chris Spedding in 1976. On Spedding's recommendation, Mickie Most signed them to his label RAK Records. Most produced their first single, "We Vibrate". The band also backed Spedding on his single, "Pogo Dancing".The Vibrators recorded sessions at for John Peel at BBC Radio 1 in October 1976, June 1977, and February 1978. They were one of the pioneering punk bands that played at London's Roxy Club. They headlined in January 1977, supported by The Drones, and in February they played twice at the venue. In March 1977 the band supported Iggy Pop on his British tour. Later that year they backed ex-Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter.The band signed to Epic Records in early 1977. Their debut album, Pure Mania which was co-produced with Robin Mayhew the sound engineer for David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust live shows, reached the Top 50 of the UK Albums Chart. The album is well regarded by some music critics, and 17 years after its release, The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music named Pure Mania one of the 50 best punk albums of all-time.Their follow-up album, V2, narrowly missed the UK Top 30. The only single to be taken from that album, "Automatic Lover", was the only Vibrators’ single to reach the UK Top 40. It earned the band a TV appearance on the prime-time TV show Top of the Pops. The Vibrators’ final single on Epic, "Judy Says (Knock You In The Head)", was released in June 1978. Years later it was included in mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time.A lack of further chart activity, and with only one UK Top 40 single to their credit, sees the Vibrators join the list of one-hit wonders; a list that includes other UK punk and new wave acts such as The Banned, John Cooper Clarke, The Flying Lizards, Jilted John, 999, the Radio Stars, and the Rich Kids.During the 1980s, John Ellis recorded and toured frequently with Peter Hammill, and subsequently The Stranglers, eventually joining the latter full-time in the 1990s. Pat Collier went on to work closely with The Soft Boys, producing their seminal album, Underwater Moonlight, and Robyn Hitchcock, producing and mixing some of his solo albums (to which Knox also sometimes contributed). Despite numerous line-up changes, The Vibrators are still touring to this date as a three-piece, Carnochan and "Eddie" being the only original members. Live Near The Seedy Mill Golf Course was released in the UK by Invisible Hands Music in 2003.

tRaCkS1.pure mania2.wrecked on you3.the kid's a mess4.don'tcha lean on me5.tired of living with you6.politically correct7.troops of tomorrow8.hot for you9.no heart10.u23811.juice on12.girl's screwed up13.baby baby14.sex kick15.disco in moscow16.can't get enough17.automatic lover18.whips and furs19.judy says20.destroy21.yeah yeah yeah

Monday, November 09, 2009

the VENDETTA: Ultraumatic

The Vendetta is an Italian band that formed in 2004. They started under the name The Bloodline, but changed that later into The Vendetta. They are an astonishingly busy band playing 150 to 180 live shows every year. The opener Fall And Rise, a fast but melodic street punk song, makes you feel that The Vendetta are feeling more at ease on stage than in a studio. This shouldn’t of course mean that Ultraumatic doesn’t have a decent sound, but the music is sounding as authentically as if it had been recorded live. The song structures are always kept at the most simple level and the sound is going from rock’n’roll to street punk and even sometimes hardcore. The Vendetta play chords that put the right amount of energy into their songs. That’s why they call their music speed rock. You may criticise that The Vendetta adhere too much to the same formula, but at least the first eleven songs are entertaining and powerfully produced. People who like Motörhead, Rose Tattoo and Misfits will get pleasure out of this record.